St. Louis: Tom Bradford final summary

Testing Pays Off for Bradford

The Wisconsin winter finally released it's grip, allowing Tom Bradford and The Sportsman Channel team to get some testing in at Great Lakes Dragway in Union Grove. Although Bradford has raced well so far in 2007, he's been disappointed in his Buell's performance and anxious to weed out its demons. This past Wednesday, Tom got his chance. "We came down here to St. Louis with pretty high hopes after our test session," said Bradford. "We tested our butts off and came out of there with some real positive results. We came out here and ran 7.12 in the first round."

qualifying round 1
"We had good numbers to half track until we got into fifth gear. We were just a little bit out of the groove and started spinning the tire like I'd never seen in fifth gear." That pass was Bradford's only hit on Friday, as rains moved into the St. Louis area and shut qualifying down at Gateway International Raceway.

"On Saturday morning we made a change with the bike. We adjusted the clutch and engine timing a little bit."

qualifying round 2
"We did some further engine tuning after that pass. It got hot, muggy and humid for the third and final round. It was definitely the worst conditions of the weekend, but we stepped up to a 7.06 and moved up to tenth."

qualifying round 3
"So our testing has shown results. We've moved up from the bottom of the pack and we feel like we're moving in the right direction. I'm real excited about today and feel like we have a good bike to race with."

Bradford opens up eliminations against fellow former AHDRA Pro Stock racer Chris Rivas, also on an S&S powered Buell. "It started off cloudy, overcast and cool this morning, but the sun is breaking through here and there and heating things up pretty quick. So it might turn out to be just like yesterday."

No matter what the weather, Bradford and the team will be entertaining representatives from The Sportsman Channel. "Karen and Joe from The Sportsman Channel are here this weekend," finished Tom. "They're a couple of drag arcing newbies, so it's good to have them here and turn them into full-fledged NHRA junkies."

-credit: tbr